Wang Yue’s sword lunged forward.
In contrast, "Lu Yu"’s pupils widened instantly, and his reaction was incredibly swift. He used the resting stone steps to leap into the air.
“You lost!”
Wang Yue smiled, his usually bitter face breaking into a faint smile for the first time.
He had seized the opportunity when his opponent was careless, striking first. He had also anticipated that… at this angle, "Lu Yu" would have to step on the stone steps to leap up and dodge.
And then…
The gap created as he fell from the air would be his opening.
*Swish…*
The Seven Star Dragon Abyss Sword swung horizontally, unleashing a sharp sword aura that swept out with a piercing whistling sound. The target, however, was not "Lu Yu" himself, but the red tassel spear in his hand.
*Crack…*
The edge of the Dragon Abyss Sword struck the wooden shaft of the red tassel spear, and instantly… the spear snapped!
“Hahaha…”
Accompanied by rampant laughter, Wang Yue used his sword to knock away the spearhead section of the red tassel spear. His eyes revealed an ultimate sense of melancholy.
This was, arguably, the most conservative approach…
As the saying goes, "A straight thrust is the king of spear techniques," the point in the middle being the hardest to defend. Now… with "Lu Yu’s" spear broken at the tip, how could he still "point" his spear?
“Heh heh…”
With a cold laugh, Wang Yue retreated three steps and sheathed the Seven Star Dragon Abyss Sword. He looked up at Lu Yu, his posture one of smug arrogance. “I have a sword, you do not. The outcome is decided!”
“Indeed, you are the most troublesome opponent I have ever encountered, but… it is all over now.”
Waves of killing intent spread around Wang Yue…
The word radiating from him was "confidence." One could say he had already secured an invincible position!
…
…
“Not good!”
On the mountain range level with the Hidden Dragon Abyss,
Xiahou Dun exclaimed in alarm…
He had been watching, dumbfounded, just moments ago. What in the world was happening… Was "Lu Yu’s" spear technique that formidable? This… this kind of skill could defeat ten of him, Xiahou Dun!
Ma Teng, Ma Chao, Ma Yunlu, and Pang De were of the same opinion.
While laymen watched for excitement, the discerning saw the underlying skill. Furthermore… the Ma clan of Fufeng Maoling was proficient in both spear and sword techniques!
And "Lu Yu’s" spear art… in their eyes, it was certainly not something that could be learned in just a few days.
His spear skills were fantastical, predicting the opponent’s moves…
Even more so, the spear art bore the trace of the Fufeng Maoling Ma clan’s spear techniques!
They were so engrossed that they were mesmerized…
But… just moments ago, as the battle grew more intense, everyone’s hearts were pounding in their throats.
With the two figures faintly visible… in their final exchange, Lu Yu… Lu Yu’s spear had been cleaved!
This…
This…
This was never a fair contest to begin with, and with Lu Yu losing his weapon, it was about to become even more unfair.
“This is bad…”
Ma Teng frowned. Losing one’s weapon in a one-on-one duel was akin to losing one’s horse on the battlefield.
One could say that at such a moment, a weapon was a warrior’s life!
“No!” Ma Chao shook his head. “For that last strike, Lu Ziyu had other options. He didn’t have to leap into the air…”
On this mountain range, Ma Chao was the most knowledgeable in both spear and sword arts.
He had keenly sensed something was amiss.
Just then, Wang Yue’s sword strike seemed to block all angles, but the rear was impossible to block. Although there was a stone step, if he had leaped over the step and retreated to dodge, it would still have been possible!
“Was that sword strike too sudden?” Ma Yunlu tried to answer, biting her lip, her heart in her throat. “Perhaps… perhaps he didn’t have time to react?”
“Impossible!” Ma Chao explained. “While it might be true for an ordinary warrior, Lu Ziyu is too astonishing! With the spear and footwork he displayed earlier, dodging that strike would not have been difficult…”
“Then…” Xiahou Dun exclaimed, tapping his forehead, “Ziyu… did it on purpose?”
As he said this, Ma Chao did not reply.
However… one could sense that he leaned more towards this conclusion.
…
…
“Do you still want to fight?” Wang Yue asked.
In a duel between masters, let alone weapons, a single moment of carelessness could lead to decapitation.
It seemed… there was no longer any need to fight.
Unexpectedly, "Lu Yu" picked up the long spear in his hand that had been stripped of its tip. No… to be precise, it was a wooden stick.
The mountain wind blew, carrying wisps of cold air past their hair. Silence persisted for a moment.
“To be able to say such a thing proves your martial arts are also mediocre!”
Lu Yu’s voice was as cold as ice.
“How so?”
Wang Yue’s interest was immediately piqued. After so many years, this was the first junior who dared to speak of martial arts in his presence.
Lu Yu continued, “Sharp and fierce, invincible. Before reaching the age of twenty, I used it to contend with the heroes of Hexi.”
“The Ziwei Soft Sword, used before the age of thirty. I accidentally injured a righteous man, which was inauspicious. Filled with remorse, I cast it into a deep ravine.”
“The Heavy Sword lacks a point, great skill is unadorned. Before the age of forty, I relied on it to roam the world.”
“After forty, I was no longer bound by material forms. Grass, wood, bamboo, and stone could all be swords. From then on, I refined my skills, gradually entering the realm where 'no sword is better than a sword.'”
Speaking to this point…
Lu Yu repeated the keywords from his earlier statement. “A sharp sword lacks intention, a soft sword is without form, a heavy sword has no edge, a wooden sword has no equal… No sword, no technique. The realms you have described to me, elder, you are at most still bound by the first stage!”
This…
– “No longer bound by material forms, grass, wood, bamboo, and stone could all be swords?”
– “No sword is better than a sword?”
Listening to "Lu Yu’s" words, Wang Yue felt as if he were experiencing the life journey of a master of the highest sword realm.
Especially that sentence… “No sword is better than a sword!”
No wonder his sword techniques, upon reaching great mastery, always failed to break through. It turned out… it wasn’t that his moves were not refined enough, but that his understanding of the sword was not thorough enough.
But…
No!
Wang Yue shook his head sharply. “You speak beautifully, ‘no sword is better than a sword.’ You are now without a spear in your hand, can you still defeat ‘having a spear’? I never imagined that the renowned Nan Shou Hou would also be a glib-tongued fellow, stubbornly refusing to yield!”
As he spoke, Wang Yue raised his sword once more…
However, this time he deliberately switched to the "Zhongxing Sword" from the stone steps…
“Feel free to try!”
Lu Yu’s expression was utterly calm…
Every inch of his cheek displayed four characters – “Unfazed and Confident!”
It was as if, only by being without a spear could he unleash his realm of “no spear better than a spear.”
Even so…
Near the stone pavilion, Wang Yue’s peripheral vision flickered towards Xiahou Juan behind him.
“Prepare to collect your husband’s corpse!”
With that, Wang Yue turned his gaze back to Lu Yu. “In hell, let King Yama listen to your martial arts!”
As he finished speaking…
All of Wang Yue’s attention was focused on Lu Yu.
Although the opponent was without a spear…
His previous words were still too intimidating, coupled with the combat prowess he had displayed earlier.
Wang Yue dared not be the slightest bit careless.
“Come, try it! The realm of ‘no spear better than a spear’!”
Lu Yu, too, tossed the broken spear far away… He squinted, gazing at Wang Yue before him.
The more he acted like this, the more Wang Yue became wary, the more Wang Yue focused with all his might.
“Watch my sword…”
Finally…
Wang Yue made his move, stepping forward.
In contrast, Lu Yu merely extended one hand, while the other rested on the joint between his elbow and forearm. He looked like the later-day "Wing Chun's Ip Man."
And in his hand, at some unknown time, appeared a small twig. Was it truly “flying flowers and falling leaves can injure the enemy”?
Thirty paces!
Twenty paces!
Ten paces…
Wang Yue’s speed was astonishingly fast… In a brief moment, he had put distance between himself and the stone pavilion behind him.
“Die!”
Accompanying Wang Yue’s hoarse voice.
With a loud "bang," a sudden, deafening sound shattered the tense atmosphere. It was immediately followed by a "puff," and Wang Yue’s blood splattered out, along with a mouthful of blood he spat out.
Wang Yue felt a power so potent that it could destroy him surge through his body from behind.
His pupils contracted, his heart tightened…
Looking forward again, the branch in "Lu Yu’s" hand had pierced through his chest. The sharp branch had sunk deep into his body.
Puff…
Another mouthful of blood.
Wang Yue was almost holding on by sheer willpower. *Thud…* one leg knelt on the ground, and the second leg also buckled.
He looked at Lu Yu before him…
Lu Yu murmured, “This is called ‘flying flowers and falling leaves can both injure the enemy’…”
Wang Yue, however, realized something…
He turned his head to look back behind him. Below the stone pavilion, directly behind him, a woman was holding a weapon like an "iron hammer." In the front of the "iron hammer" was a large round hole… like the "iron hammer's" nose, and smoke was still rising from this nostril…
Light smoke swirled.
The intermingling of blood and fire painted… after an explosion, the scent of gunpowder could be detected. The ground vibrated, the air was agitated, yet the scene was exceptionally tranquil!
“You…”
Wang Yue noticed that the woman below the stone pavilion was peeling away her face with her hand…
It was a face utterly different from Xiahou Juan’s. It lacked Xiahou Juan’s delicate beauty, but possessed more courage and resilience, a face full of masculine charm.
“Qiang Dao Ling, Zhao Ang’s wife – Wang Yi!”
“Perish the thieves for Wei!”
Historically, Wang Yi was indeed the wife of Qiang Dao Ling, Zhao Ang, and the mother of Zhao Ying and Zhao Yue.
During the rebellion of Han Sui and Ma Chao, Zhao Ang held firm in Qishan… He had devised nine extraordinary stratagems, and Wang Yi had participated in all of them…
If history were to follow its original course, before the rebellion of Han Sui and Ma Chao… there was a rebellion by Liang Shuang. When the city was breached, Wang Yi’s two sons were killed. Seeing her two sons killed and unwilling to be violated by the rebels, Wang Yi decided to commit suicide.
Upon seeing her six-year-old daughter, she abandoned the idea of suicide. Thus… she donned a hemp garment that had been soaked in dung water, ate very little to appear thin and weak, and endured the humiliation for a year.
Later, when Zhao Ang sent someone to fetch Wang Yi and her daughter, as they reached the official residence, Wang Yi refused to advance further. She told her daughter that she had met with misfortune and could not uphold her chastity only because she was concerned for her young daughter. Now that her daughter was returning to her father’s side, she decided to leave her daughter and seek death, and with that, she swallowed poison and died. Fortunately, someone provided an antidote and forcibly poured the medicinal soup into Wang Yi’s mouth, and Wang Yi eventually regained consciousness.
Later, when Ma Chao and Han Sui rebelled… Wang Yi personally donned battle attire, assisting Zhao Ang in defending the city. She used her pearls, jade pendants, and other ornaments to reward the soldiers. During the defense of Qishan… she devised nine extraordinary stratagems, and Wang Yi's contributions were immense.
For this…
The "Lie Nü Zhuan" (Biographies of Exemplary Women) specifically recorded her story.
She was a virtuous and remarkable woman!
This time… during the rebellion of Han Sui and Ma Chao, it was Wang Yi who proactively contacted Lu Yu, and it was Lu Yu who instructed him to feign allegiance… and not to act rashly.
While within the enemy camp, Wang Yi and Zhao Ang’s hearts were with the Han dynasty.
In this stratagem, Wang Yi and Zhao Ang, a couple hidden in the shadows, provided crucial intelligence. It even led to Wang Yi proactively volunteering to impersonate Xiahou Juan.
However…
More than the "iron hammer" in Wang Yi’s hand, Wang Yue was more concerned about… how such a large object appeared in this woman’s hand?
Wait…
“You… you all…”
Wang Yue noticed several of his disciples beside Wang Yi. He realized something. “You… are betraying your master…”
Before the words "betraying master and destroying lineage" could even escape his lips, the leading disciple among them spoke first.
“Master, our families are all in Wei territory… and the future Yongliang will also become territory of the Great Wei. We also have to consider the future of our families.”
“Master… I’m sorry, but if we had another chance like this, we… would still do it.”
This…
Killing with a heart!
Wang Yue looked at his disciples in astonishment. These were… these were all his most trusted disciples!
“You… you…”
His eyes were filled with sorrow.
Losing was not terrifying, but being betrayed by those closest to him… this was too painful.
Just then, the disciples who had been standing around and lying in ambush all emerged… Wang Yue thought these disciples were going to avenge him and purge the traitors.
But unexpectedly, they all drew their swords… and pointed them towards Wang Yue.
“Master… we had no choice.”
“Master, it’s not our fault, it’s just that the Nan Shou Hou offered too much!”
Each heart-piercing remark drove Wang Yue to the brink of fainting. The blood gushing from his back intensified, and he coughed up even more blood.
However, these disciples avoided Wang Yue’s gaze.
They remembered… the night five days ago.
It was in the thatched hut below the Hidden Dragon Abyss…
Wang Yue ascended the mountain…
And the disciples gathered together.
“Did the Nan Shou Hou really offer so much?”
“Has the Great Wei truly issued orders… to give land to our mothers and fathers?”
Whispers of discussion continued incessantly…
One of the disciples slowly stood up.
He murmured…
“Master is doing this to vent his anger this time, but what happens after venting his anger? It’s certain death. He’s old, but we are still young. Is it worth it to go and die with him?”
“Besides, our families are all in the hands of the Nan Shou Hou. One step forward is light, one step back… leads to eternal darkness!”
Having said this…
Some disciples were moved, while a small number of disciples showed a hint of hesitation.
“But… this is our… this is our dearest, most beloved master?”
“Yes… this is our dearest, most beloved master! But he taught us martial arts, he watched us grow up!”
Voices rose one after another.
The leading disciple frowned. “What do you mean?”
“Do you really want to follow him… into that abyss of eternal damnation? Think about yourselves, think about your loved ones… your parents, your wives and children. Then think about this world… isn’t a unified world a good thing?”
“No…”
A disciple quickly stood up. He was considered the representative and epitome of these disciples. “Senior Brother, I… we don’t mean that.”
“Then what do you mean?” the leading disciple asked coldly.
“We mean, to backstab our dearest, most beloved master, to backstab the master who watched us grow up and taught us martial arts, then… then… then it needs… it needs more money!”
This…
As the words escaped his mouth, the entire hall fell silent, but soon, a clamor erupted…
“At least… double the amount!”
“Right, double!”
…
…